…a boomer muses about life, change, joys, sorrows and freedom from the prison of corporate life.

Bits And Pieces – Episode 3

Well, it’s that time again – when I have several things to talk about, none of which merit a whole post, but all of which I need to get off my chest. Let’s begin, shall we?

1) To start with, I’m becoming very, very annoyed with our local weather forecasters. Why? Because they seem unable to differentiate between a real weather threat and the possibility of one. In my area, all it takes is an ominous cloud and they’ll break right into the regularly-scheduled programming and, once they’re ensconced, they’re reluctant to leave. Thursday night was a perfect example. I was watching “Survivor,” and we were just at the moment when we would find out who gets voted off the island, and our worst offender, a woman, breaks in and proceeds to talk about “possibilities” of bad weather for the next hour! The show was five minutes from ending! I mean, really! She couldn’t have waited five minutes? And this wasn’t for a tornado warning, that, I could understand. It was for “ominous cloud formations” in a town far from our metro area. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, I changed the channel to watch the “Grey’s Anatomy 100th Episode,” and here was another forecaster, showing us maps and on-the-spot reporters telling us it was dark and raining! He, too, stayed on the air the entire hour! Haven’t these people ever heard about the little boy who cried “wolf?”

2) I’ve mentioned in this blog before about Amy Bird, the bird who built a nest in a tree in front of my house, and whose progress I’ve been monitoring like some anxious relative. This has been a great joy to me because she had shown all the signs of being a devoted mother-to-be – determination, patience and protectiveness.

Well, for the past four days, every time I’ve gone out to peek at her, this is what I see. That’s right – an empty nest. And I’m absolutely sure she didn’t have her babies, because I’ve been out there often enough that I would have known. No broken eggshells on the ground – nothing. I’m wondering if our lawn care guys scared her off, with their monster mowers, edgers and blowers. Or else, do some birds, like some humans experience “false pregnancies?” Whatever…it makes me sad. 3) This one is no big deal, and maybe just interesting to me, but I discovered recently that I, a lifelong left-hander, can only snap my fingers with my right hand. So what I want to know is – is this normal? Or can everybody else snap their fingers with both hands? Please enlighten me with a comment!

4) And finally, I’ve only seen a ghost once in my life. It was in a previous house and I was in bed when I looked up and saw the back of a man going through one of my dresser drawers, as it he were looking for something. It was frightening because I realized I wasn’t asleep, and yet, when he started to turn towards me, I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep and when I opened them, he had disappeared! Now understand, I was NOT sleeping. It’s not like “…and then I woke up” because I was already awake. If it had been a real burglar, he would have set off the burglar alarm Okay. So that was my experience up to 2005. But, ever since I moved to the house I’m in now, I’m pretty sure I have a ghost in the kitchen. This one isn’t one I can see, but manifests as a cool, very obvious breeze across my face. There are no windows in my kitchen, and each time this has happened, neither the furnace nor the air-conditioner were on. And yet, it never makes me feel scared because, for some reason I feel that it is my mother, who passed away when I was eight. I know it sounds crazy, but I know it’s something outside the realm of normal. And honestly, it’s comforting. Every time it happens, I just smile and say, “Hi Mom!” I don’t suppose any of you have any nice friendly household ghost you live with – do you?

Well, that’s all for now. As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments.

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5 Responses

Poor Amy Bird. That looks like too well established a nest for this, but in the redtailed hawk nests I watch in the web, birds sometimes build a second nest the same year and use that instead. Or I’ve read that a young bird who is still learning will build a nest but not carry thru with the whole producing eggs and hatching thing the first year or so.

Snapping your fingers – do you mean getting an actual noise produced? I just tried this and I can snap with both hands, but get a noise from neither… 🙂

I hate to say it, but possibly something happened to Amy. Maybe she was a great mom, but alas the neighborhood cat or a speeding car, or a hawk got her. I’d prefer to believe she made another nest in a less busy spot.

I can snap fingers on both hands and get “snaps” with both.
I thought everyone could.

I too believe it’s your mom. I believe it because you know it, and only you would know in your heart and mind who/what it is.

Upon further experimentation 🙂 I find that I can snap my fingers and get a noise with both hands, but I have to use my thumb and the little finger and the finger next to it to do so. Snapping with the thumb and two fingers next to it makes no noise.

Karen Anne – I like your explanation that it was a young bird that was just practicing best! 🙂 About the snapping – I meant making a noise, a loud snap. But on the hand that works, I use my thumb and middle finger. Strange. Thanks for your comments!

Just Me – I thought everyone could snap with both hands, too, but discovered that my left hand just can’t do it! Sob.
Thanks for believing that my ghost really is my mother. I mean, after all, who can say it isn’t! Thanks, as always for being my faithful “commenter!”